Windows Insiders should set a reminder to check builds at the end of each week. Microsoft has just released four Insider builds, each containing several changes and improvements.
Remember, Microsoft is like that An overhaul of the Windows Insider Program. Beta Channel Insiders have not yet moved to the new Beta experience. Those on the Dev Channel and now on the Experimental Channel will receive Build 26300.8376. Insiders on the Canary 28000 series Channel are now Experimental and will receive Build 28020.2075. Any Insiders on the Canary 29500 series Channel will receive Build 29585.1000.
Once the transition is complete, within the channels Windows Insider Program navigation and switching between will be easier. But for now, people will have to double-check the release notes to figure out what build and features they’ll be getting.
With so many different builds spread out, I’ll highlight the biggest changes instead of listing four separate change notes.
Beta Preview Build 26220.8370
Free upgrade path to Windows 11 Pro Education for K-12
Windows Insiders in K–12 education environments can now experience a seamless upgrade path from Windows 11 Home to Windows 11 Pro Education edition at no additional cost. This allows educational organizations to purchase Windows 11 Home devices, upgrade them to Windows 11 Pro Education, and present the devices to school administrators.
Note: This upgrade is one way only. Reverting to Windows Home without a clean OS reinstall is not supported.
Experimental Review Structure 26300.8376
Touch panel
We’re adding new gesture-related functionality to precision touchpads in Settings. New features should be widely available in all apps, except that WinUI3-based UI requires new WinAppSDK versions for full functionality – we’re in the process of bringing the necessary changes to versions 1.8 and 2.0.
- Scroll / zoom speed: control the base speed for these gestures
- Automatic scrolling: scrolling continues indefinitely without lifting your fingers. Activate by moving your fingers closer to the edge of the touchpad, or by holding them still and pressing harder (requires support).
- Accelerated scrolling: scrolling repeatedly increases their speed, allowing long documents to move quickly.
- One-finger swipe: swipe vertically with one finger, starting from the left or right side of the touchpad.
File Explorer
We’ve made several updates to File Explorer to improve reliability, readability, and overall usability:
- Address bar improvements
- The address bar now supports paths with double backslashes and quotation marks (such as C:\Users\user or “C:\Users\user”), improving compatibility with a wider range of inputs.
- Improved the reliability of the Address Bar suggestion dropdown so that it consistently closes after an item is selected.
- A more readable file size format
- In the details view, file sizes are now displayed using the appropriate units (KB, MB, GB) instead of just KB, making them easier to understand at a glance.
- Improvements to the renaming experience
- Fixed an issue where text would be repeatedly selected when renaming items in folder views.
- Fixed an issue where updated names (changes only) were not immediately reflected in local and cloud storage folder views.
- Improved keyboard navigation of the File Explorer context menu in pop-up windows.
EDU
Windows Insiders in this channel can also upgrade from Windows 11 Home to Windows 11 Pro for K-12 at no additional cost.
Experimental (26H1) Preview Build 28020.2075
Introduction
- Improved typing reliability when using the ADLaM keyboard.
- Improved performance of opening clipboard history.
Fonts
We’ve made some font improvements, including updating the Leelawadee UI font family for Thai, Lao, Khmer, and Lontara scripts to improve glyph consistency, placement, and rendering for these scripts.
Experimental (Future Platforms) Preview Build 29585.1000
Tap Keyboard Experience to Type with Voice
- We’re revamping the experience when you use touch keyboard typing to feel simpler and more intuitive. The new design eliminates the previous full-screen overlay and instead displays voice typing animations directly on the dictation key, helping you focus on what you’re doing without additional visual distractions.
The best new features of Windows 11
All of the changes pushed to Windows Insiders this week are welcome improvements, even if they affect different customers. Educators and school administrators will likely appreciate the free upgrade path to Windows 11 Pro Education edition, as it allows them to acquire and upgrade Windows 11 Home devices.
I’m really excited about the new gesture functionality in Windows 11. Controlling the scrolling and zooming speed through Windows Settings will save me time, and automatic scrolling will allow me to scan web pages with less effort. I read a lot of articles for my job and need to find specific pieces of information, so anything that speeds up scrolling and navigation is a big plus.
I also appreciate File Explorer, which displays the sizes of files in the most appropriate units. Listing a file as 4,215,577 KB is not particularly helpful. I know I can convert it in my head by moving the decimal point, but I prefer to see that file listed in GB.
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